When the 49ers shutout the Seahawks’ offense in Week 2 it looked like a case of a dominant defense wrecking an inferior offense. Seattle was coming off a game where the scored 17 points amassed just 253 yards of total offense. The games since Week 2 in Santa Clara though have painted a different picture that makes the 49ers’ defensive performance against Seattle more impressive.
San Francisco beat the Seahawks 27-7 at Levi’s Stadium, and the visiting team’s only score came on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown late in the third quarter. They had 216 yards of total offense, turned it over three times, and went two-for-seven on third downs.
Since that game the Seahawks offense has come to life behind quarterback Geno Smith. They’re averaging 34.3 points per game in that three-game stretch, and they’ve put up 457 yards of offense per game while committing one turnover each contest. Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA lists the Seahawks as the No. 1 offense in the NFL. They’re No. 7 in points, No. 8 in yards, and they lead the league in yards per carry on the ground. San Francisco held them to 36 yards on 14 attempts.
It’s certainly worth noting that in that stretch the Seahawks faced some of the NFL’s worst defenses. Detroit is downright putrid on that side of the ball and allowed 48 points with 555 yards against Seattle.
They have benefitted from the level of defensive competition, and it is highly unlikely the Seahawks offense maintains its place atop the DVOA leaderboard all year. However, it’s also clear their offense is not one of the NFL’s worst. They just looked that way in Week 2 against a 49ers defense that ranks at or near the top in (pick your favorite stat).
Holding Chicago down in Week 1 was expected. So was a dominant outing against Carolina. The Seattle beatdown looked like the expectation at the time. Every week that passes though it looks more and more like a highlight of an elite 49ers defense than it does a referendum on what the Seahawks are doing offensively this season.
